Summer Skin
by IFeelAliveAgain
Summary: "On the night you left I came over/And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders/Our brand new coats so flushed and pink/And I knew your heart I couldn't win/Cause the seasons change was a conduit/And we left our love in our summer skin." AU. Rating will go up. Eventual LightXL.


Title: _Summer Skin_

Description: "On the night you left I came over/And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders Our brand new coats so flushed and pink/And I knew your heart I couldn't win/Cause the seasons change was a conduit/And we left our love in our summer skin." AU.

Hello! After this chapter, I'll try to keep A/N's minimal! This is going to be a pretty long story so I hope you stick around. It's going to start a few years before the Death Note storyline and follow all the way through the final arc. It's very AU, and the major characters might seem OOC until the end of the first arc—they have to become the way they are somehow!

This is not a songfic, but it is musically inspired (the idea came from a Death Cab for Cutie song), so when a song is mentioned, I recommend listening to it as you read so that you get the feel I did while I was writing it.

And without further ado, here is _Summer Skin_.

O.o.O.o.O

It was exactly 10:47 on a Saturday morning early in June; a day of blue skies, moist heat, and for the first time since last summer, the promise of three lovely months without school. It was on this fine day that Light Yagami was doing a study on the law of gravity.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

Light repeatedly tossed his lucky tennis ball at the ceiling, deftly catching and promptly re-releasing it as soon as it hit the lightly bronzed palm of his hand.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

Light vaguely wondered how long it would take before his family became irritated with his incessant noisemaking. Upon careful consideration, Light estimated that this event would most likely occur within the next few moments. He _had _been at it for quite some time.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

"LIGHT!"

Bingo.

Light halted the downwards motion of the tennis ball. "YEAH?" Light yelled back, refusing to leave the comfort of his bed to meet the conversational needs of his family members.

"_First_ of all," said Sayu Yagami, bursting into his room quite abruptly, "Shut up. You're seriously annoying."

Light laughed at his ten-year-old sister. "And second?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. Food's ready." As she finished relaying this information, she lightly punched Light in the shoulder and rushed downstairs before he could react.

Light couldn't help but grin after his only sibling. He found that their six-year age difference didn't affect the strength of their friendship, especially with their father's absence due to his long hours at the police station. Ever since Light could remember, his father Soichiro had been perpetually busy. This didn't bother Light, of course. He understood. In fact, he planned on following in his father's footsteps as soon as he was of the appropriate age. It was just that he wasn't always a fan of the soap opera-induced estrogen fest that generally occurred whenever his father wasn't around.

This thought was punctuated by a girly squeal from the general direction of the downstairs television. Light chuckled and bounded downstairs, not bothering to add a shirt to his minimalist ensemble of gray sweatpants and holy socks.

"Ewww!" shrieked Sayu. "Put some clothes on!"

"Not likely," snickered Light as he grabbed far too many pancakes. Like so many other teenage boys before him, Light had the enviable ability to eat incredible amounts of food and maintain his near-perfect physique. Light was a total stud, and he knew it.

"What's my fantastic older brother doing tonight?" Sayu inquired with a smile and a flutter of her eyelashes.

"Wow, Sayu, sucking up so you can get a ride somewhere? I expected more from you," Light teased.

"I just wanted to get ice cream…and you have your license and all! So lucky," she huffed dejectedly.

"I'll take you," replied Light calmly, easily sidestepping the loving (but most likely incredibly painful) tackle from the little girl who looked up to him so much. He messed up her hair just to get a reaction from her and, laughing, ran outside.

The sun was shining warmly, and Light relished the feeling the rays created as they hit his skin.

Light's neighborhood was fairly cookie-cutter. Everyone in the subdivision was quite obviously well off, and their lawns were kept in pristine condition as a testament to that fact. With the exception of the house directly across from that of the Yagamis. Now, this house wasn't haunted (as if Light would ever believe in something he couldn't see), nor did it have a particularly interesting history. It was just that Light's neighbors had moved away two months ago, and the yard was looking mildly depressing, if truth be told. The dandelions had launched a full-scale attack on what had once been the green grass of the yard, and it seemed that the entire lawn was now involved in total war. The shrubbery remained untamed and uncared for, and the yellow pallor of the lawn wasn't helping matters. Light turned away from the house, hoping that someone would move in soon…if only for the lawn's sake.

O.o.O.o.O

After spending the day with Sayu in their backyard pool (in ground, of course), Light heard his father's voice inside. Light breathed a sigh of relief—it was already 7:30, and it _was_ a Saturday. Soichiro was currently working on a particularly hard case, though, and had to work extra hours. Light knew that his father was only doing the honorable thing.

Light pushed himself out of the pool and hastily dried himself off, Sayu trailing along in his wake.

"Hey, dad!" said Light as he stepped through the sliding glass door, towel-drying his hair.

"Light, Sayu, there's someone I want you to meet." It was only then that Light noticed the people standing next to his father. It was a family of four, but Light's focus was drawn to just one person.

In front of Light stood a boy who had to have been around his own age. The boy had a shock of black hair and huge, almost panda-like eyes to match. He would probably be around Light's height if he wasn't hunched over as if he had 150 pounds on his back. Light was utterly intrigued.

"This is the Ryuga family. They're in the process of moving into the house across the street, and Takeshi is a detective as well. He's a new addition to our department," Soichiro elaborated.

Light finally turned his attention to the rest of the family and gave them a winning smile. "Hi, I'm Light."

"Kimi," said the mother with a smile. She was clearly in her forties, as was her husband.

"Call me Takeshi," the oldest man said, shaking Light's hand. Though his hair was graying, the man's face seemed youthful.

"Near," said a small boy who barely reached Light's waist. He bore a strong resemblance to his older brother, save for the fact that he had bright white hair and the rounder face of a child. However, he struck Light as being wise beyond his years.

"I am L," said the eldest boy, unabashedly observing Light's body. And for the first time in a long time, Light almost felt self-conscious.

While Soichiro made the rest of the introductions, Light quickly went upstairs to change into something less dripping wet and revealing.

Looking into the mirror, Light made absolutely certain that he was still gorgeous. After assuring himself that his godlike status hadn't changed, he went back downstairs to talk some more to L. It was such a weird name… not that "Light" was any better.

"Light, can we take them with us to get ice cream?" Sayu begged as soon as she caught sight of her brother.

"I don't see why not," Light replied.

L's eyes lit up at this, and Kimi chuckled. "L's got quite the sweet tooth. That should be fun for you guys! I think Near will stay with us, though—we don't want him out too late."

Sayu's inclination for frozen dairy suddenly did a 180. "Oh! Well, I'll stay with you then! I probably shouldn't stay out too late either. I am pretty tired. Maybe we can watch a movie or something, Near!"

Near nodded, and Light stared at Sayu. Her refusal to meet his eyes upset him at least a little, but her blush gave her away, and Light chuckled until Sayu stomped on his foot.

Soichiro nodded. "Well if you boys want to go out now then go ahead, we won't be doing much else. Don't be home too late," he finished gruffly.

Light laughed. "Of course not, dad! You know me. Very punctual."

At this, Sachiko rolled her eyes. "Hilarious, Light."

O.o.O.o.O

Light's car was nice. Like, really nice. Upon seeing it, L had thought it was the most beautiful thing in the entire world, as evidenced by his slack jaw.

It was an SUV, the biggest car Light had yet to see on the local roads. It handled perfectly and was smoother than something that was really… smooth (similes were not one of Light's many fortes). Oh yeah, and the subwoofers were absolutely sick.

Light pushed the "on" button on the dashboard stereo, and the car immediately filled with sound.

L's eyes widened. "Midnight City, M83?"

Light nodded. "Yeah, I like foreign music a lot. Plus this song is incredible."

L nodded his agreement. The faint blue glow from the dash lit up his face and he smiled, bobbing his head almost imperceptibly in time with the music.

Light rolled down his window and relished the feeling of the wind absolutely ruining his hair. L apparently did, too, because he suddenly let out a little laugh as his hair blew into his face.

In that moment, Light couldn't seem to think of a better way to spend the first night of his summer.


End file.
